Team Distortion
by Vingle
Summary: When a legendary saves your life, what do you do? How can you repay it? How do you repay someone who already has everything?
1. A Step Too Far

**Team Distortion **

**By Vingle**

**A Step Too Far**

_Greetings, readers. I am sorry that I have not updated The Heart of a Dragon in months, but I haven't had the heart to write in a while. But recently, I've begun to revise the chapters, so keep your eyes peeled! This is a PMD BASED story. It has some of the elements, but does not follow the concept fully. I hope you enjoy this!_

_GL HF GG,_

_~Vingle_

* * *

_Have you ever wondered what the meaning of life is? Have you ever thought about why the world is what it is? Why there is evil and injustice throughout the land? Why we exist? Mother used to always tell me that we existed because of love; love bound us, it joined us and gave everyone a reason to move along through the harsh, unforgiving game that is known as life._

_But what do you live for when everyone you love, your kin, your friends, your mate, have passed? Do you lose the gift of sentience? The gift of emotion? The gift of life?_

_Every being has its time. But of course, not all of us die equally. Some die in happiness, in peace, while others die in pain, in regret. _

_I myself had almost suffered the same fate, if not for the intervention of a greater being, which showed me why life was worth living, why I should go on._

_And that is how this story begins._

* * *

There was not a cloud in the sky. The sun shone brightly from above. The grass was cool, the berries ripe, and the flowers began to bloom.

It would have been a perfect day, except for the fact that Chalectus had lost her lucky flower. Her friends had only agreed to help her look for it because of how much that little flower meant to her.

"Redun! Anything?" Called Chalectus.

"Sorry, it's not in the water." Said the Prinplup as he dove out of the pond. "Geez, Chalec," Grumbled the Penguin Pokémon as he shook himself dry. "You're really forgetful for a Metagross, you know that?"

Chalectus did have a rather bad memory when compared to other Metagross. This particular quirk, along with her unwillingness to let go of her flower, made her an outcast among her species; that was the reason why she always spent time with other pokémon. The prinplup's full name was Reduntoris. He, on the other hand, was quite popular and well known among his friends and other pokémon due to his status as the colony leader's son. His lack of pride also helped, as he could get along quite easily with other pokémon, which was quite rare for his species. He never took any credit for his achievements, no matter how amazing they were.

Chalectus did not answer, as she was straining to see if her flower was anywhere around.

"Oh well…as long as you don't get killed because of this," Said Reduntoris. "Why don't you go wai-" He began, but was interrupted when a shuppet landed in front of them, levitating the flower beside it.

"Found it!" Said the shuppet with a look of triumph on his face. He held up the flower to Chalectus who took and cradled it like it was her child.

"Thank you, Scortis."

"Glad to have helped!"

Obscortis (his full name, if you haven't figured it out) was also unlike the rest of his species. While most shuppet flew around feeding on negative emotions, he fed on happiness, love, laughter, and most other positive emotions (it's a personal choice, all it takes is willpower). Especially laughter. He would always try to make others laugh, which resulted in him becoming the biggest joker in the surrounding area. His choices didn't stop him from feeding on negative emotions when he had the chance.

"Now that I have my flower, we should perhaps go exploring?" Suggested Chalectus.

Exploring was their favorite pastime (Reduntoris wanted to illustrate a map of the region). They had discovered numerous places that they kept secret, as they were very useful during the Annual Region-wide Hide-and-Seek competition. Ghost pokémon weren't allowed to participate due to the fact that they could hide in the middle of objects. Reduntoris felt that there was no point in participating, as the winner basically only received bragging rights. Chalectus did her best to win, but she was a rather noticeable character and was easily spotted.

"I found a cave in Sendoff Spring. It was radiating some kind of strange aura. We can go there, but we must proceed with caution."

"Let's go!" Yelled Obscortis.

"Right now? Bu-"

"LET'S GO!"

"Alright, alright!"

"And I want pie on the way!"

"What? Why?"

"DON'T ASK QUESTIONS, PENGUIN."

* * *

_15 minutes later_

Reduntoris had gone to the same place he always went to for pastries: Eldur's Bakery.

He entered the bakery alone, as Chalectus had to restrain Obscortis from flying into the Bakery and eating everything. They learned not to trust him when he was around pastry.

"Why, if it isn't my favorite prinplup, Redun!" Greeted Eldur from behind the counter. He was an old Farfetch'd who had decided to settle down and do what he had always wanted to do: make people happy with pastries.

"Greetings, Eldur. I'd like to order two oran berry pies, three pecha pies, and three onion pancakes," Asked Reduntoris. He looked over his shoulder. "And a bottle of Aprijuice, please."

"Trying to sate that crazy shuppet again, eh?" Said Eldur, laughing.

Reduntoris nodded. Eldur handed him the food, giving him a bag to put it all into.

"Maybe you can come over sometime and see what's wrong with my Oran tree sometime, alright?"

"As soon as I can, sir."

He walked out of the shop and handed the bag to Obscortis, who immediately took out all the food and began to devour it.

When he was finished, "Forty-four seconds," Said Chalectus, with disgust. "Four seconds less than last time."

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Screamed Obscortis. He started to shake uncontrollably.

"Grab him!" Yelled Reduntoris, grabbing the shuppet with both wings, while Chalectus grabbed onto Reduntoris' midsection, moments before Obscortis rocketed off.

As they flew through the air, his life began to flash before his eyes. The feeling that he was being pulled in half distracted him while he was mentally writing his will.

When Obscortis finally landed, all three collapsed into a heap on the floor, with Reduntoris lying crushed beneath Chalectus' huge mass.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Hooted Obscortis as he sprung back up, as if nothing had happened.

The other two just groaned. No one could argue with Obscortis. Sure, his behavior was erratic and unusual, but he was good at debating. You could give him three reasons why he shouldn't eat pastries, only to be slapped in the face with nine reasons why you're wrong.

"Are we there yet?" Asked Obscortis, floating in front of the cavern entrance. Without waiting for a response, he zoomed into the cavern.

"…Let the little idiot die…" Muttered Reduntoris to himself.

"Uh, little help?" He groaned. "Please?"

Chalectus slung him over herself, and after making sure he was secure, entered the darkness.

* * *

_First chapter done! I just needed to type something to bring the spark back into writing. :D _

_Things will heat up in later chapters. _

_Screw fruits._

_All you need is Mr. Papaya. _

_Read on!_

_GL HF GG,_

_~Vingle_


	2. A Glimpse of the Other World

**Team Distortion **

**A Glimpse of the Other World**

"Obscortis!"

"Scortis! Where are you?"

"Augh…stupid shuppet." Grumbled Reduntoris. He was still being carried, as he was quite incapable of carrying his own weight after being squashed by over a thousand pounds of solid metal. He was surprised that he survived.

"Lighten up." Said the aforementioned pokémon. She set the penguin pokémon down against a wall. They were in a rather dark cave with strange formations and tunnels on each side. There was also a pit in the center.

"Remind why we're friends with him again?"

"He's not prejudiced," answered the Iron Leg pokémon. "And Redun?"

"Yea?"

"Shouldn't you be mapping this?"

It took a second for her question to sink in.

"OH CRAP!" Screamed Reduntoris. He threw his pack on the floor and started to rummage around. Chalectus looked on, laughing. It was funny to see a normally calm and composed pokémon like him running around like the world was ending.

After he took out his mapping paper and brush, he looked around the room. "This cave is not a natural formation," He declared. "Too symmetrical, too clean, and the tunnels are too parallel. Can you tell me the area of this room?"

"Precisely 88.88 square meters."

"Let's move on. If all the rooms are the same size, then mapping it would be a lot easier."

"Which way?"

"It depends on how deep into the rabbit hole you want to go, Alice."

"Very amusing."

* * *

_2 hours later_

"Redun, do you have any idea where we're going?"

She obviously knew the answer to that question, but it felt better to say it aloud.

"No. I'm starting to think that this cave system disobeys the laws set for the rest of the world."

Chalectus didn't answer. She was looking at a smear of icing in the shape of an oval next to a tunnel. There was only one person who did that.

She looked back at Reduntoris, who was tapping the pillar in the middle of the room.

"Redun, this way." She said, walking into the tunnel without waiting.

In the next room, she saw another icing mark near a tunnel. Reduntoris climbed onto her head (which also technically doubles as her back).

After traveling through another six rooms following the icing mark, Reduntoris concluded that every room had the same area. He also could not shake off the feeling that they had passed by the same pillar thrice.

"Any chance we're going around in circles?" Chalectus asked.

"More than likely."

"Perhaps we should turn back?"

"To where? I don't think backtracking is logical when all the rooms are moving."

After entering the room, instead of a pit in the center, there was a platform with a portal floating in the center. Several icing marks were around it. The portal was blue with a purple tinge at the sides. Reduntoris exclaimed and began to write done what he saw in some journal of his. Chalectus never needed one, personally. She could always remember what happened, down to the finest detail.

But she still forgot where she put her things. She thought herself lucky that Reduntoris was there to keep track of their things and Obscortis, well, he simply flew off and retrieved whatever they lost while traveling. Perhaps that was why they worked so well together.

"Hey guys!" An all-too familiar voice called out behind them. "Well, I think this is where we're going."

"Obscortis! How did you get here so fast?" Sputtered Chalectus.

The shuppet shook himself. He had that crazy grin on his face. The one that told you he was going to do something crazy.

"Wall HAX."

'Wall HAX' was Obscortis' name for the ability to go through walls. A tad bit obvious, but it was an apt name. Reduntoris rolled his eyes.

"So did the icing marks lead you here or was it just dumb luck?" Asked Obscortis.

"Icing. How did you make those marks? I don't think those pies had icing on them."

The ghost pokémon shook his head. "I didn't make those. Did you notice the paw prints next to them?"

The other two pokémon shook their heads, clearly confused.

"The icing prints were somewhat fresh; only about 3 hours old."

"And that means?" Asked Chalectus incredulously. She had no idea how he could tell how old the icing was.

"THE CAKE MIGHT BE ON THE OTHER SIDE!"

Reduntoris and Chalectus simultaneously face palmed. Obscortis took no heed and with surprising strength, proceeded to throw the other two pokémon through the portal.

* * *

As they tumbled through the air (Chalectus didn't even know if it WAS air), she silently vowed to kill Obscortis eight times over if they survived. She also saw a massive snake-like thing flying through the air. If you could even call it snake-like. Last time she checked, snakes did NOT have tentacles. She also noticed a pink pokémon, tiny compared to being next to it, flying along.

Chalectus bounced off a platform, along with Reduntoris, who has grabbed onto Obscortis. All of them screamed as they tumbled out into the depths of the Distortion World-

Until they landed on the snake thing. Chalectus screamed for all she was worth. She recognized the pink pokémon: Mew.

She also noticed the icing on its paws and face.

Mew then spoke: "Oh, Giratina, some pokémon just dropped onto your back."

_We're gonna die, _Thought Chalectus. _The giant snake thing is probably going to swallow us whole and then we'll die a long painful death as our bodies are dissolved-_

Giratina did not answer, but landed on one of the floating islands. Chalectus and co. quickly jumped off, thankful to be on at least semi-solid ground at least.

"How did you three get in here?" Growled Giratina. "No, don't answer. Must have been that blasted portal in the cave."

Giratina fell silent for a few moments. After what seemed like an eternity, he spoke. "Normally, I should have killed you three right there and then. The Distortion World is not to be trespassed."

Chalectus closed her eyes, waiting for death to come.

"But I have a proposition for you."

Reduntoris froze, wondering what Giratina would ask of them.

"If you will serve me, do my bidding, I will let you live. You will be able to lead ordinary lives except for the times when I call on you. Do you accept?"

Chalectus thought furiously about the possible choices. She could accept his offer and live to see another day, or she could refuse and die. The others were thinking similarly.

"Exalted legendary, may I have time to ponder your offer?" She began, knowing that Giratina could kill them with ease.

"You have exactly twenty-four hours to decide. But for you to leave here, you must all swear on with your lives that you will never tell anyone of the Distortion World."

They all nodded simultaneously. After swearing, Giratina created a portal behind them.

"You may leave. But think carefully. Perhaps death may be a blessing compared to what you may face if you agree."

Chalectus, Reduntoris and Obscortis silently went into the portal.

They found themselves near Eldur's Bakery. Obscortis, who was never fazed or intimidated, was shaking with fear. Chalectus found herself shaking as well. Reduntoris, who was still holding on to her, had his eyes closed.

Obscortis rushed into the bakery, obviously ordering a pie or four to calm his nerves. She set Reduntoris down on the grass. She looked at a pane of glass in Eldur's Bakery, but instead of seeing her reflection, she saw Giratina looking at her.

And in an instant, it was gone.

As she closed her eyes, Giratina's words rung in her mind.

_Perhaps death may be a blessing compared to what you may face if you agree._


	3. A Series of Unfortunate Events

**Team Distortion **

**A Series of Unfortunate Events**

Chalectus trudged through the forest, thinking about whether to accept or decline Giratina's invitation. Reduntoris and Obscortis followed her slowly.

Reduntoris was deep in thought, while Obscortis was chewing on a cupcake with pink icing-

_What cupcake?_

"Scortis, where did you get that?" Asked Chalectus incredulously.

"That pink floating thing gave it to me while you were talking to the octosnake. And get this!" He said excitedly. The shuppet levitated the cupcake so Chalectus could see. "It regenerates!"

Chalectus didn't even bother asking how that was possible. She turned away as he continued to gorge on it.

"Do you believe that was really Giratina?" Asked Reduntoris. He began to play around with his pokédex. He had found it lying on the grass during a disaster of some sort, in which everyone in town had fled. Seeing no point in having it lie there, he took it. The sound chip was damaged, so it couldn't say anything out loud, but it was still a useful source of information.

"Ah. Giratina was apparently banished to the Distortion World because of his violence." Said Reduntoris, peering at the screen.

"Well, he didn't exactly treat us like friends, did he?"

"I-AUUGH!" Began Reduntoris, only to be tackled by Obscortis.

The penguin pokémon struggled to get up. "What is your problem?" He screeched furiously.

"Tree." Said the ghost pokémon as he pointed to a fallen oak where they were a split second ago.

Reduntoris grunted his thanks and got up. Obscortis looked at the tree curiously.

"What do you think made it fall over?"

"The wind, obviously."

"The roots here look fine. There also happens to be a lump of stone there acting as a windbreaker. It couldn't have been the wind."

Reduntoris winced. Outplayed. Again. Obscortis was undefeatable if he set his mind to it.

Too bad he was always chasing after pastries and other sugary things.

"A storm's coming up," Said Reduntoris, looking up at the sky. "A bad one, by the looks of it."

Chalectus suddenly called out. Something small and red flew off of her, twirling crazily in the strong wind. Reduntoris realized that it was her lucky flower.

"Hang on! I'll get it!" Yelled Obscortis as he dashed off after it.

In his haste, he accidentally knocked Chalectus off the side. Reduntoris could only watch in horror as she fell over the edge. He silently cursed Obscortis for being so brash.

After waiting for a few seconds, he peeked over the edge, only to be whipped in the face by wind.

A great shape soared over and landed behind him, carrying an unconscious Chalectus. It deposited the metagross beside the startled penguin.

"Divectus!" Said Reduntoris. "What are you doing here?"

"Just flying around, enjoying the day, until Chalectus here decided to jump off a cliff just for the fun of it." Said the Skarmory. It clucked it's metallic beak in disapproval. "I thought Metagross were capable of flying."

"She never learned how to."

"Then why did she choose a cliff, of all places?"

"Eh…Obscortis knocked her off as he was rushing by." Said Reduntoris sheepishly.

The aforementioned ghost puppet hurried back to them, levitating the flower. "Ah, sorry for knocking you off like that, I-" He began, only to be boxed on the head.

"How many times have I told you to not bash into people when you fly?" The metal bird said harshly.

"…Seven-hundred and twenty-three times…" Muttered Obscortis.

"Do you think you'll learn before I have to tell it to you a thousand times?"

Obscortis shrugged. Divectus sighed turned away. Reduntoris looked at her with awe. He had heard about the skarmory's renowned flying prowess, but he never figured out what gender Divectus was. After a moment of brooding, he worked up the courage to ask.

"Uh, Divectus, may I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Uh," Began Reduntoris, embarrassed with himself. "Even though I've known you since childhood, I've never quite figured out what gender you were…" He blurted out, shrinking slightly.

"I'm a female, as you can see." Said Divectus indignantly. She ruffled her feathers proudly.

It all made sense now. Reduntoris had always thought her voice sounded oddly feminine, though he had always passed it off as his ears failing him. She had always been rather slender compared to the other skarmory. He blushed when he remembered the accidents they had gotten into over the years.

"So, what happened to you? I haven't seen you in months!"

"I flew off in search of an answer."

"To what?"

Divectus hesitated for a moment before answering. "I…I wanted to know if it were dishonorable to change this ridiculous name of mine."

Reduntoris flinched. The pokémon in their region had always given names based on the circumstances of the child's birth. To change one's birth name was unheard of.

"How is it ridiculous?"

She didn't answer. He turned his attention over to Obscortis, who was trying to prod Chalectus awake.

"Obscortis, stop doing that."

* * *

"So why did you come back?"

"I wanted to see how this place had changed. A lot can happen in a eighteen months."

Reduntoris and Divectus rested beside the fire, which blazed merrily. Obscortis had gone out with Chalectus to look for some berries.

"Well, what do you think so far?"

"It's different," Said Divectus. "Everyone used to be all happy and carefree. Now everyone's nervous and wary. Is there a reason for their change of mood?"

"There's been some Rhyhorn terrorizing everyone living here. They killed Hilsio last month when he tried to stop them from destroying his family's shop. That's put everyone on edge."

Divectus took a moment to think about Hilsio. The Pidgey had only been a few years old when she had left. What gave him the courage to stand up to the Rhydon? She certainly would have fled.

"So what have you been doing? I see you're still friend's with that crazy ghost."

"I've been drawing a map of the region. I'm looking for a place where the Rhydon can't follow us." Said Reduntoris. He held up the map, which was faded after years of wear.

"How long have you been doing that?"

"A few years." Answered the penguin, returning to making marks on the paper.

"Why don't you take a break?"

"There's a lot to put on it."

"I can still see that you're neurotic as always."

"Not as half as much as you are vain," Said Reduntoris dryly. "And no penguin jokes. Or ones about me not having a proper family. They got old eighteen months ago." He said as he got up and walked away.

Divectus didn't answer, startled by his prediction.

"I wasn't going to say that…" She whispered.

* * *

"Hey," Said Chalectus when he got to them. "Weren't you talking with Divectus?"

"She hasn't changed."

Chalectus looked at him questioningly. "What makes you think that?"

"Go ask her yourself."

Chalectus sighed and lumbered off towards the fire. Reduntoris had always had a friend-enemy relationship with Divectus. She often said things that aggravated him, straining their friendship. After years of fights and arguments, they had become inseparable. He was the only male that could stand her fierce personality. One day, she disappeared without leaving a trace. Though he would never admit it to anyone, he had bawled for hours after learning of her disappearance. Eventually, he matured. But judging from his reaction at seeing her again, he hadn't forgotten her.

She hoped Obscortis wouldn't go crazy on the berries. The silver head of Divectus rose to look at her as she approached.

"Thanks for saving me." Said Chalectus, hoping to break the tension between them.

Divectus gave a quick nod in response. The two of them stood still for a few moments before she spoke again.

"Why does he hate me so much?"

The question took her by surprise. "Er…maybe he is just nervous," She said. "You know he's happy to see you."

Divectus didn't answer.

"You know him," Started Chalectus. "Nervous around pokémon he doesn't know very well."

"Know him?" Laughed Divectus. It was a harsh sound, like talon being drawn across a pane of glass. "He didn't know I was a female until today."

Chalectus rolled her eyes. Reduntoris was more unobservant than she had previously thought.

"I'm going to talk to the others. Take care." Said Divectus as she flew off into the night.

Chalectus shook her head before settling on the ground. By the time Obscortis and Reduntoris had come back with berries, she was fast asleep.

* * *

_The Next Day_

_Wake up. _A voice said. Chalectus ignored it, but it kept calling, getting stronger.

When she could no longer stand it, she opened her eyes and looked around groggily. A shape was waving around frantically, pointing at the distance.

"Wake up!" She cried, hysterical.

"Wha? Divectus, what are you doing here?" She said crankily. "It's barely dawn."

The other two pokémon had risen and looked at her curiously.

"The Rhyhorns! They attacked the village!" Cried Divectus. Chalectus noticed that she was covered in blood. "Everyone's dead!" She blurted out before collapsing in a heap, sobbing.

The metagross looked in the direction that the metallic bird had been pointing at. Smoke was bellowing in the distance, with the occasional scream of pokémon echoing in the distance.

She looked to the others. They both had frowns on their faces.

Silently, the three of them reached an agreement. They would search the area for survivors and survey the damage.

They dashed off towards the site, wondering if everything they knew had been destroyed.


	4. Unearthly Intervention

**Team Distortion**

**Unearthly Intervention**

**Warning: Gore will be present in this chapter. **

The damage was worse than they expected.

Trees lay crushed everywhere. The remains of a fire smoldered in front of them.

The only thing that was more numerous than the trees were the mangled bodies of pokémon littered everywhere.

Chalectus skidded to a stop beside the body of an eevee. It had been gutted, it's entrails scattered around the area. She dared not look in its eyes, out of fear that it did not have any.

Chalectus looked up to see Reduntoris retching on the ground, with Obscortis looking at the Ponyta beside him. Its skull had been bashed in, as if it had been stepped on deliberately. Chalectus had the strange feeling that she had just stepped into some of its brain matter. She would also have retched, but it was physically impossible for her to do so, seeing as she was a Metagross.

"Well, don't just stand there! Look around!" She screamed, angry mostly at herself.

Reduntoris raised his equivalent of an eyebrow. That was the first time he had seen her in such a state. But considering the current situation, it was quite apt.

"Where did Divectus go?" He asked.

"I thought you took her with us!"

Reduntoris facepalmed.

"You realized that she would be able to fly survivors out?" Ventured Obscortis.

"I don't need you to tell me that." Answered the penguin grumpily.

The Shuppet shrugged. "We might as well go searching. Wouldn't want Grumpy McGross there to yell at us again."

* * *

"So did you find anyone?" Asked Chalectus.

"Only bits and pieces of them," Stated Reduntoris grimly. "These Rhyhorn were awfully thorough with their work."

"Arceus damn it!"

Obscortis floated nearby, whistling a Christmas carol.

"Stop that." Growled Chalectus.

"Why? It's the Christmas season!" He said, laughing.

"Not when everyone you've known all your life has just been massacred!"

Obscortis stopped laughing and suddenly spoke in a very serious voice. "You must stay positive, dear Chalectus. If you wallow in the depths of your despair, you will be swept away by the tides of life. Do not let survivor's guilt weigh you down. Thank Arceus for letting you live, at the very least."

His seriousness left as fast as it arrived. "Now you said you still wanted to search?" He stated casually, ignoring the other's shock.

Reduntoris shrugged and entered what looked like the remains of a shack of some sort.

Common sense told him to take anything he found, should it be useful. His heart told him otherwise, however, as it would be dishonoring those who died.

As usual, common sense won over.

He quickly swept through the shack, coming up with several assorted seeds and items. He dumped the items unceremoniously in front of Chalectus.

"Let's see…two Reviver Seeds…one Golden Seed…three Vanish Seeds…two Violent Seeds…five Blast Seeds…Focus Sash…Pumice Stone…One White Herb…" She said as she sorted through the items using Reduntoris' Pokédex to identify them. Obscortis had also brought back a myriad of berries, which Chalectus had not bothered to sort.

"Can I have the Pumice Stone?" Asked Obscortis Eagerly. He bobbed up and down in the air.

"Any lighter, and you'd be floating to the moon." Said Chalectus half-jokingly.

Sure enough, he started rising. It was fun until he banged his head on a tree branch.

"On second thought, you have it."

"I never knew that there were so many berries in existence. Rowap Berry? What in Arceus' name is tha-?" Chalectus' rant was interrupted by a distant scream of pain. Everyone froze in surprise.

"LET'S GO!" Screamed the Metagross. Reduntoris barely had time to grab onto his pack before being pulled off.

To the penguin's amazement, she drew her legs together and launched herself into the air. His Pokédex never said that Metagross could fly. He wondered what they would find when they closed in on the source of the scream.

After about thirty seconds of flight, Chalectus landed suddenly with a crash, which caused Reduntoris to be thrown several meters away. Obscortis landed silently in front of them.

A group of Rhyhorn milled around an unseen pokémon, evidently trying doing something to it. Several Rhydon were around giving commands, while a single Rhyperior stood among the group, watching over them.

The group shifted, revealing the pokémon in the middle to be an Aggron. It had many wounds across its body, but it acted like it was protecting something.

With a roar, it whipped its horns, impaling two of the Rhyhorn and throwing them across the clearing. It then swung its tail, throwing away several more Rhyhorn before the number of attackers overwhelmed it.

As it was forced onto the ground, it made eye contact with Chalectus. The gaze was pleading, asking her for something. She nodded, and for a split second, it had a look of satisfaction on its face before it was covered by the writhing mass of Rhyhorn. It's struggles ceased after a few moments, signaling its death.

That was the first time they had seen anything being killed. Reduntoris had always thought it was glorious, like on a battlefield. But now that he had seen it, he found it sickening.

With a roar, Chalectus slammed into a Rhydon, crushing it between her enormous bulk and a large tree.

They felt a hundred pair of eyes focus on them.

He silently cursed Chalectus for rushing into them. They would not get out of this alive.

The Rhyperior made several gestures to the Rhydon, who then charged forward, followed by the mass of Rhyhorn.

Obscortis fired a Shadow Ball at one of the charging Rhyhorn, knocking it over.

Chalectus was trying to reach the body of the Aggron, throwing Rhyhorn away as if they were pebbles.

"Obscortis! Get Chalectus and go into that building over there!" Yelled Reduntoris as he dodged a charging Rhyhorn.

The puppet pokémon complied, pulling Chaletcus into the damaged building. As he went in, he chucked a Blast Seed at the doorframe, causing the section above to collapse.

"LET ME BACK OUT!" Cried Chalectus.

"No!" Said Reduntoris forcibly. "You'll be torn apart!"

"Why are you so interested in that Aggron, anyway? It's dead, Chalectus," Put in Obscortis. "Dead and gone."

"SHE STILL LIVES ON! LET ME OUT!"

"That we cannot. The only entrance has been blocked." Answered Reduntoris.

Chalectus drew her legs together and shot through the ceiling.

"Shit."

Obscortis rushed forward and launched a powerful Faint Attack on her, causing the metagross to collapse onto the second floor with a loud crunch. Reduntoris wondered how it was able to sustain her massive weight.

"There's a flock of Murkrow hovering above us. They have an alliance with the Rhyhorns." Reasoned Obscortis.

"WHICH MEANS?"

"We're trapped. We can fight it out, in which we will all die, or we can try to wait them out."

"So it's a siege." Stated Chalectus, calming down.

"I'm sorry if you wanted to go to the Aggron, but that would have lead to your death." Said Reduntoris.

"I understand." Said Chalectus with a hint of satisfaction in her voice. He wondered what was responsible for her sudden change of mood.

"Both groups of pokémon seem to have a chain of command. The Rhyhorn's are commanded by the Rhydon's, with a Rhyperior at the top. The Murkrow's are controlled by several Honchkrows." Observed Obscortis.

"And that means?"

"If we were to take out the leaders, the rest of them would be in disarray. Some individuals may still attack us, but that's preferable to being surrounded by your enemies."

"And this place also happens to be the library." Said Reduntoris. "The walls are sturdy enough to withstand any attempts to knock down. Pity that the architect is dead."

Chalectus went to the top level of the library, which offered a very nice vantage point in the form of windows. Shards of glass covered the floor, along with several scattered books. She noticed a Rhydon order several Rhyhorn to the side of the building. After a few seconds, she started hearing digging sounds.

Panic shot through her. "They're going to destabilize this place!" She cried to the others. In her panic, she charged a Hyper Beam and shot it at the Rhydon who she believed was the commander of that particular group. It went clean through the Rhydon's chest, scorching the ground where it hit.

The Rhydon clutched at its chest and collapsed. It shuddered once and was still. Several others ran to it, hurling rocks at the window. Several of them went through the window into the wall, showering her with debris.

"Redun!"

"What!"

"How fast can Rhyhorn dig?"

"I don't know, but they're good at it!" Said Reduntoris as the floor lurched to the side.

"The Rhyperior's going to drill through the front!" Cried Obscortis as he rushed to them.

Chalectus looked down the window to see the aforementioned Drill Pokémon preparing to punch through the wreckage at the front.

She charged up yet another Hyper Beam and fired it at the Drill Pokémon, only to have it hit a large rock thrown at them, canceling each other out.

"Would a Blast Seed take him out?" Suggested Obscortis. He levitated a pouch filled with the remaining seeds.

"Let's try with one." Said Reduntoris, taking one in his hand.

"I'll distract him when you throw." Said Obscortis, forming a Will-O-Wisp by his side.

"One…" Reduntoris gripped the seed harder.

"Two…" Obscortis readjusted the blue fire.

"THROW!" Yelled Chalectus.

But at that moment, the building lurched to the side again, throwing everyone to the floor, which also caused Obscortis to shoot the fire at the wreckage.

To everyone's horror, the pouch carrying the seeds flew out the window. It bounced off the Rhyperior's head, to its confusion.

And landed right in the fire.

The resulting explosion took out the walls of the ground floor, causing the entire building to collapse.

The last thing Obscortis saw before blacking out was the ceiling collapsing on him.

* * *

The explosion had also thrown the Rhyperior into the forest, which resulted in a string of broken trees in their midst.

Obscortis burst out of the rubble, pulling an unconscious Reduntoris with him. He noticed that the penguin was still clutching the Blast Seed that he intended to throw.

"Well, at least we still have one." Muttered the Puppet Pokémon.

He carefully swallowed the seed, to prevent anyone else from getting their hands on it. He could always just regurgitate it, but where was the fun in that? The fun part was that he could ignite it in his mouth and use it as a flamethrower.

Before he could think, a shape barreled into him from behind, knocking him to the ground. As he struggled to get up, the figure strode up to him and stepped on his back so hard that his spine would have snapped, if he had one. It also pinned him to the ground, leaving him unable to do anything.

A Rhydon walked next to Reduntoris, carrying a large boulder on its shoulders. Before it could be dropped on the penguin, something zoomed into it, causing the Rhyhorn to throw it into a tree on fire.

"Don't you dare touch him with your filthy paws, dirt eater!" Screeched the furious form of Divectus as she pecked at its eyes.

The Rhyhorn stepped back. It swung its arms around, catching the Skarmory and slamming her into the still-burning tree.

"Do not challenge the power of the Rhydon." It snarled as it picked her up by the throat.

Divectus smiled slightly. "Look up." She croaked.

The last thing the Rhydon ever saw was the boulder speeding to his face.

As the Rhydon's still-standing body tumbled to the ground, the pokémon stepping on him shouted in surprise. He took the opportunity to summon up another Will-O-Wisp and smashed it into the shape above him.

He held it there until the screams stopped.

"Where did you come from!" Exclaimed Obscortis as he rushed to the skarmory, who was struggling to get up.

"I was searching for you guys. I thought you'd have gone to Eldur's Bakery. You're just lucky I arrived at the right time." Answered the bird, looking at Reduntoris. "Thanks for leaving without me."

"Hey, we thought you were distressed and needed some time to think!" He said defensively. Now was not the time to fight about things. "Now where's Grumpy Gross?"

"Over here, you useless ghost!" Cried a voice on the other side of the wrecked library. Several screams were heard as they rushed over.

They turned the corner to see Chalectus Bullet Punching a Rhyhorn in the face before doing a back flip onto another Rhyhorn's back, breaking its spine.

Obscortis was about to utter something when he was suddenly buried under several tons of rock.

Something grabbed Divectus from behind and slammed her to the floor. As she exclaimed in surprise, a heavy fist struck the back of her head, knocking her unconscious.

Rhyhorn converged on Chalectus from all sides, crushing her between their horns.

As she collapsed, the Rhyhorn withdrew, letting the Rhyperior walk up to her.

It placed its foot on her head and pressed.

"You three have been rather annoying. You shall die a very painful death for killing so many of my clan mates."

"It is a pittance compared to all the lives of innocents that you took today!" Screamed Chalectus.

The Rhyperior did not answer, but took a sharp stone from the ground. "Your eyes shall go first." It growled, raising the stone, its fist blocking the sun.

At that moment, Chalectus did something that no one had ever done before.

"GIRATINA! IF YOU'RE THERE, WE COULD USE SOME HELP! PLEASE!"

The Rhyperior looked at her as if she were insane. "Did you really just pray to the God of Death? You really are the spawn of the Devil. And his spawn must be killed." It said, thrusting the stone.

At that moment, the ground shook. It sent the Rhyperior's aim wild, causing it to smash the rock into her armor, shattering the stone. The Drill Pokémon looked around wildly, vowing to kill whatever caused the disturbance.

Unfortunately, the 'thing' that caused the Disturbance was the God of Death himself.

The sole habitant of the Distortion World gazed around, before uttering a single line.

"Get out of my sight."

He smashed a large sphere of energy into a crowd of Rhydon, obliterating them.

That was when they decided to flee. It was the first time in their lives that they decided to do that. It would also be the last thing they did.

Giratina ignited a Will-O-Wisp in both of his wings. Instead of throwing them, like most pokémon did, he swept his wings horizontally at a fleeing group of Rhyhorn, sending blue flames at them like a flamethrower.

The Ghost Dragon threw one of the balls at the flock of Murkrow, exploding in a brilliant flash of fire. He then drew a ring of fire around the area, cutting off the Rhyhorn's escape.

Extinguishing the bright blue ball in his wing, he stalked towards the Rhyperior, who had fallen to the ground in shock.

"Please, have mercy!" It pleaded, giving a shaky bow in Giratina's direction.

Giratina clenched his still-burning wing into a fist and raised it.

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." He stated in a sing-song voice, closing his eyes.

Just when Chalectus thought that he had given mercy, the dragon slammed his fist onto the Rhyperior, crushing it into a bloody mess.

"How, may I ask, are your friends doing?" Asked the God of Death as if nothing had happened.

She was speechless for a moment, before she realized that he was asking her if the others were okay. "O-Obscortis is trapped under that pile of rocks," Stammered Chalectus, afraid that he might decide to crush her as well.

The dragon lumbered over to the pile and ripped the rocks out of the ground as if they were paper.

"Chalec, you okay? I thought-" Broke off the ghost as he gazed into the crimson eyes of Giratina. "Oh…uh, hi there!" He said, giving a half-hearted wave at the dragon.

"The other two are over there…" Said Chalectus, motioning towards the unconscious forms of Reduntoris and Divectus.

Giratina gathered some energy into his wings. When it was sufficient, he stopped the flow. He then sent it into the two birds, snapping them awake.

"Wha-? What happened?" Gestured Reduntoris wildly. Divectus stared at Giratina silently.

"Are you guys okay?" Asked Chalectus worriedly.

"Yea…in fact, I've never felt better in my life!" Exclaimed the penguin. Divectus nodded, a dreamy expression on her face.

"So, uh, thanks for helping us out." Said Chalectus awkwardly.

"You were doing fine until Obscortis here blew up entire ground level of the library." Answered the dragon casually. "Pity. There were so many rare books in there."

Obscortis paled, turning a rather pleasant creamy colour.

Giratina laughed. "No, I'm not going to kill you. But I'm here on a more pressing matter." He said, all humor disappearing from his face. "What is your decision? I am sorry for your loss; they were a rather interesting bunch. It pained me that I could not do anything. The surplus of souls will take some time to sort out."

"What decision?" Asked Divectus. She looked at Reduntoris imploringly. He also paled, turning yellow.

"I am sorry, but you must also make the choice. Since you have learned of my existence, you cannot return to living the way before. You must either serve me until the end of existence itself, or you may choose to end your life right now."

Divectus' face hardened. "There is no one left for me to return to. I accept your offer." She said, looking him in the eye.

"Me and Redun will choose whatever Chalec chooses." Piped Obscortis.

The Death Dragon turned to Chalectus.

"So what is your choice? The lives of your two friends depend on you."

Chalectus slowly raised her head. They were defeated, in pain.

There was no turning back.

"I accept."


	5. Chaining the Indebted

**Team Distortion**

**Chaining the Indebted**

"Is there any chance to turn back?" Inquired Reduntoris.

"Your fate was set in stone the moment Chalectus said those words. You placed your choice on hers. Do you regret your decision?"

Reduntoris shook his head. He was glad that he couldn't turn back. A part of him would chicken out and run for it.

He turned to find Chalectus stumbling to the body of the Aggron. "Let her do what she wants to do…" He mumbled as he followed her.

The aforementioned Metagross stood by the fallen Iron Armor Pokémon, her head bowed.

"…your sacrifice will not be in vain, Aggron that I will never know." She said, placing an armored leg on its side.

"What are you doing?" Asked the penguin pokémon, wondering if she had finally lost her mind.

"Quiet, Reduntoris. You will scare it." She said softly, tilting her head.

Reduntoris was about to utter a response, but was cut off when she cuffed over the head.

Chalectus pushed the body aside, revealing…

A lump of dirt.

Reduntoris made a sound of disapproval and began to turn away.

Then he saw the dirt move. He stared at it, transfixed.

It shifted once more, before staying still. Then a small head poked its head out, staring at them with pale blue eyes. It shrank back when its gaze beheld Giratina.

She began to murmur softly to it, like a mother crooning to her child. It looked at her with an unreadable expression. She reached forward with a massive leg and gently stroked its head. It slowly crawled out of the ground, where it brought its head up to meet hers.

He glanced at Obscortis, who returned his glance with a look of confusion.

"This is a rather undesirable dilemma we have here," Began Giratina, observing the scene impassively. "It now looks to you as its mother."

Chalectus nodded, not looking up.

"Since it has seen me, you must also decide for it. However unfair that is, it is a rule I must follow."

Reduntoris closed his eyes, dreading the outcome.

Either way, its life is going to be changed. If we decided to keep it alive, it would be bound to Giratina for the rest of its life. Who knows what that will do to its development? It would be kinder to just kill it. If we were to decide to end its life, though, we'd spend the rest of our lives weighed down with guilt.

It hurt his head thinking about it. There was no right way. He looked at Chalectus.

She raised her head and stared into Giratina's blood red eyes.

"I would like to keep him alive."

"I see." Said Giratina, blinking once. The Ghost Dragon drew himself up to full height.

A chain suddenly bound his wing. He felt the same thing happen to his other limbs.

Looking around, the others were also being bound. The chains were composed of bright blue energy. The other ends of the chains ended on the points on Giratina's wings.

"When you wake up, you will be taken to a place far away. Earn their favor. I will call upon you soon enough."

Reduntoris barely had time to register that statement before he blacked out.

* * *

"Hey, are you alive?"

Something poked him on the back. He stirred slightly. It poked him again.

"Hey, I think this one's alive!" The voice called out. He felt his back being poked a third time.

"Poke him anymore, Charizard, and he'll be paralyzed." Another voice said. It was smooth and thoughtful, compared to the smug confidence of the first.

"Just making sure their nervous systems are working,"

He jumped onto his feet, not wanting to be poked again. In front of him stood a Charizard and a Tyranitar. The Charizard tilted his head, looking at him curiously, while the Tyranitar lumbered over to him and started feel his limbs.

"Any broken bones? Internal injuries? Trauma?" It asked, turning him around and pressing on his spine in various places. He yelped when it touched a tender area on the cord.

"Try not to move," It said. "What's your name?"

"Reduntoris," He grunted. He saw the Charizard poke the others in similar fashions.

"What happened here?"

"Rhydon. Lots of them."

"Some battle must have occurred. There's at least five-dozen bodies or so here," Said the Tyranitar, looking around at the area. "And this building looks like it collapsed on itself."

"…Blast Seeds." Said Reduntoris. He realized that he would have to keep the part about Giratina secret.

"Really? How many did you use?" It asked incredulously.

"I don't know."

"Where did you get them all?"

"We found them."

The Tyranitar didn't answer for several moments. Then he slapped Reduntoris on the shoulder.

"From what I can tell, you're fine." Rumbled the Armor Pokémon. "Though you should get checked more thoroughly at a clinic. There's only so much a field medic can do." He added.

"Thanks." Mumbled Reduntoris. He smiled slightly when he saw Obscortis strangling the Charizard.

"DON'T YOU DARE POKE ME!"

"Okay, okay! Just stop strangling me!" The Charizard screamed hysterically, running around in circles, as the Puppet Pokémon had blanketed his entire head.

Obscortis didn't stop.

"Scortis, stop. He'll die if you continue." Said Chalectus, slowly getting up to reveal the Aron sleeping under her.

Obscortis suddenly stopped and flew over to her.

"So how's the little guy doing?" He asked, using a completely different tone.

"Fine. I wonder if he'll remember this event."

"I believe he will. They don't talk much, but the members of his evolutionary line have near-photographic memories. I've talked to a few over the years." Said Reduntoris as he walked to them.

"I'm not going to be the one who has to break it to him at any rate." Said Obscortis. Chalectus narrowed her eyes.

"What's going on? Who're they?" Grumbled Divectus as she crankily got up. "I hate being knocked unconscious. It's so humiliating!"

"Chalec found an Aron; she decided to keep it alive, so it's going to live out its life as another one of Giratina's pawns."

"We best try to make its life as enjoyable as possible then. What is its name?"

"It does not have one yet."

Divectus nodded. Reduntoris turned to the pair that stood in front of them.

"So who are you guys?" He asked suspiciously.

"We go by the name of Team A.C.T, Prinplup." A voice reverberated in his head. He looked around suspiciously.

An Alakazam appeared at their side in a flash of light. "Don't get yourself worked up. You may have internal injuries."

"Why are you here?" Said Reduntoris, directing his words at the Alakazam, who appeared to be the leader of the trio.

"We were sent here," Said the Alakazam, hesitating. "To look for survivors,"

"What do you mean survivors?"

"This wasn't the only place ravaged by the attack. You are the only ones we have found so far."

"You mean…"

"The Rhyhorns were…thorough…with their victims. You five only seem to have survived because you put up a fight and won."

Reduntoris swayed on the spot, slowly realizing what the Alakazam meant.

He suddenly fell back, his vision flickering.

"Aw geez…can you try not to be so blunt next time…?"

The voice seemed oddly out of tune. He thought that was strange, as from what he could tell from reading, voices were supposed to sound distant when you fell unconscious.

* * *

"Hey! Redun! Wake up!" A loud voice rang in his ear.

"Leave me alone…" He muttered. His entire body ached, as if he had fallen off of an eight-story building.

"WAKE UP! THIS IS NO TIME TO BE DOZING! YOU'LL GET YOUR SLEEP LATER!" The voice yelled angrily.

Reduntoris bolted upright, afraid of what would happen to him if he refused.

He found himself looking into the narrowed eyes of Obscortis.

"Ah! What!" He asked, startled. "Augh…I wasn't aching this badly when I went unconscious…"

"These guys want to talk to you." He said, gesturing in the direction of a Chatot and Wigglytuff. "And sorry, we couldn't really carry you down; the only way was to drop you and have someone catch, and that someone happened to get distracted when we let go. But rest assured, as I made sure that she'll always take her work seriously from now on. Now go and talk to them."

"Hello, friend!" Greeted the Wigglytuff, jumping forward. "We're here to talk to you!"

The Chatot rolled its eyes. "We are asking to speak with you because those other two," It said, gesturing to his side. "Are in a state of shock, and this one," He said angrily, pointing to Obscortis. "Refuses to talk. You appear to be fine. We'd like to know what happened over at your home. Such a massacre has never happened in history before. I hope you understand our reason for asking."

"We were sleeping when Divectus, the Skarmory over there, alerted us of the attack. We were in the middle of some rather high bush, so I guess we got lucky that they didn't see us."

"You mean the Rhyhorns?"

"Yes. We ran back to see if we could find anyone else. We tried to save an Aggron, but we only managed to get its child. The Rhyhorns got there before us, so we had to hide inside a building to try to hold out against them. We lasted just long enough for a team to rescue us."

"I am very sorry for your loss. I am sure many the pokémon there were friends. So you four fought against over five-dozen Rhyhorn and won? That is very impressive!"

Obscortis glared at the Chatot.

"I believe that the gods were looking out for us." He said.

"I am sure they were." Said the Chatot.

_And he doesn't know half of it._ Thought Obscortis.

"I know that you are in a lot of pain right now, but we could use pokémon with such skill as yours in our guild." He continued, glancing at the Wigglytuff. "It is not common that you see pokémon accomplish such feats, even among our own members."

Reduntoris nodded absentmindedly, eyes drooping with exhaustion.

"If you don't mind, would you consider joining our guild as a team? As a member, you will have the opportunity to explore many areas that have yet to be discovered. You will always have other members at your side in times of difficulty. And," Said the Chatot, who looked at Wigglytuff, who winked, before continuing. "Members get special 'benefits' in Treasure Town."

"What's Treasure Town?" Asked Reduntoris, confused.

"Why, the town in which this very guild is located next to!" Exclaimed the Wigglytuff, a look of shock on its face. "I thought everyone knew about it!"

"Calm down, Wigglytuff. He may have had a concussion of some sort." Cautioned the Chatot. "So what do you say? You can always give your answer later, if the time isn't right." It said, turning back to Reduntoris.

The advantages of being a member was very enticing; it would let him travel to distant areas, which would give him a better chance of completing his map. More importantly, it would give him a chance to find out why the Rhyhorns had attacked.

He looked at Obscortis, who nodded.

"I…I accept your offer." He said. "I am sure the others would agree." He added hesitantly.

"Splendid! You can rest for today. Tomorrow, you can go around and familiarize yourself with things. The day after that, however, you will be assigned a task for your group to complete. It is best not to wallow in your grief, as everyone says."

Reduntoris nodded.

"I believe you have met Team A.C.T, yes?"

He nodded again.

"They will explain the basics to you. You can think of them as your 'mentors'."

He grunted.

"I see you are tired. I will not spend any more time interrogating you. Rest well! For tomorrow will be a very busy day!" He said as he started to leave the room.

He stopped suddenly. "Ah, but I have one more to ask. What would you like to call your team?"

The question sent Reduntoris' thoughts racing. A name that would remind them of their purpose yet would remain true to their allegiances.

After much thought, he spoke up, knowing that the others would approve.

"Team Distortion."


End file.
